Every year, artists in every imaginable musical genre release Christmas songs. Some are destined to become new classics; most will be forgotten as soon as this year’s decorations come down.
But certain Christmas songs have timeless appeal. The state with North Carolina sports betting provides further proof.
At BetCarolina.com, we were curious about which Christmas songs were favorites among locals. Using Google Trends, we found the top five most popular Christmas songs based on search interest scores, with data collected from Dec. 18, 2004, to Dec. 18, 2024.
Rank | Song | Search Interest Score |
1 | “Jingle Bell Rock” | 15 |
2 | “Silent Night” | 13 |
3 | “Santa Baby” | 12 |
4 | “All I Want For Christmas Is You” | 8 |
5 | “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” | 7 |
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The top Christmas song in North Carolina, according to our research over a coupe of decades, was “Jingle Bell Rock” with a search interest score of 15.
That song, recorded by Bobby Helms, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard singles chart in December 1957. But folks in the late Baby Boomer and early Generation X age bracket might identify more readily with the Hall and Oates version. The most successful duo in pop music history released their rendition in 1983 and it has been a staple of pop and rock radio every holiday season ever since.
If this story boosts your holiday spirit, our list of North Carolina’s favorite Christmas movies will fit right in.
The No. 2 selection (search interest score 13) is “Silent Night.” This standard has been covered countless times since two Austrians composed it in 1818. It’s perhaps the Christmas song most often identified with chorus renditions, but pop and rock artists ranging from Stevie Nicks to Justin Bieber to Pentatonix have brought their own vision to the old carol.
Third in our rankings is “Santa Baby,” first done by Eartha Kitt in 1953. Two songs that have hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024 round out the list: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which is No. 1 for the second week in a row on the pop charts at this writing, and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee.
Carey’s hit is in its sixth separate reign atop the single chart, resetting the mark for most all time. Lee, who was 78 when “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” hit No. 1 for two weeks in December 2023, became the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100. The song was recorded in 1958 and took 65 years to top the charts from its initial release to its first foray at No. 1. Lee’s song started 2024 in the top slot in the charts as well – a place it had ceded to “All I Want For Christmas Is You” for two weeks at the end of 2023, then recaptured in the first Hot 100 chart released in January 2024.
Beyond Christmas, there’s the new year to think about as calendars turn from 2024 to 2025. Our story about North Carolina’s top 5 New Year’s resolutions will help you get ready.
Author
Jim Tomlin has more than 30 years of experience at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition. He now lends his expertise in sports, betting and the intersection of those two industries to BetCarolina.com, among other sites.
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